Sierra Leone - Migration

Historically, there has been considerable movement over the borders to
and from Guinea and Liberia. In the mid-1980s, the number of nonnative
Africans was estimated at 30,000. Since the civil war in 1991, hundreds
of thousands of refugees have left Sierra Leone. Of these refugees,
250,000 went to Guinea, 120,000 went to Liberia, and 4,000 went to
Gambia. Repatriation by the UNHCR began in February 1997, as 1,400
returned home from Liberia and Mali. By February 1998, UNHCR planned to
repatriate 240,000 refugees from Guinea, Liberia, and Gambia. With the
signing of the Lome peace agreement in 1999, UNHCR planned for the
repatriation of the remaining 450,000 Sierra Leonean refugees seeking
asylum in the subregion, mainly in Guinea and Liberia, but also in Cote
d'Ivoire, Gambia, and Nigeria. As of 1999, Sierra Leoneans made
up UNHCR's largest refugee caseload in Africa.

In 2000, the net migration rate was -7.8 migrants per 1,000 population.
This was a significant drop from -18.7 per 1,000 in 1990. The total
number of migrants in the country in 2000 was 47,000, including
remaining refugees. The government views the migration levels as
satisfactory.

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